Recycler
Tiago Gonçalves is a minor character in the world of Wild Cards. History Tiago was orphaned in his early adolescence when his mother simply failed to return home one day some years after his father had already been gunned down by police in a botched drug raid. Soon finding himself homeless, he turned to the life of a scavenger, collecting and reselling recyclable material from landfills, in order to eke out a meagre living. When his wild card turned, Tiago found himself transformed into one of the ugly curingas (jokers) and had no choice but to make his way to a squalid slum in the north of the city where curingas were known to congregate and reside. Life as a joker was a harsh teacher for the boy, but he soon found that his wild card had gifted him with a low grade telekinetic power that he could use to lift cash and other valuables in a way that no ordinary pickpocket could match. One day, acting on a tip off from a fence, Tiago attempted to snatch a large quantity of cocaine from a drug deal, but when the cocaine reached his hand he fumbled his escape and was caught in gunfire from the drug dealers. The fear of the situation caused him to tap fully into his power, so much so that he became a living giant of waste material, and unwittingly caused a building collapse that killed the eight drug dealers still inside. He drew on this power a second time when rival gangs fought over a dance event and began shooting and caught innocent people in the crossfire. Enraged by the unfolding events, Tiago waded into the fray himself in a bid to stop the gunmen and did much to pacify the attackers and give the party-goers time to escape. The violent intervention of a giant junk monster drew attention first from the police and then from Heróis Brazil, a Brazilian version of American Hero. With his alternative being an unfriendly confrontation with the law, Tiago had little choice but to accept the offer to appear as a contestant on the show. Wild Card Traits Tiago has a unique form of telekinesis that allows him to draw organic matter to himself, and even fuse it temporarily to his own body. By drawing on a significant amount of additional mass he can effectively clad himself in a protective layer of junk that he can build up to giant proportions and amplify his physical power proportionately. His senses also extend through his exoskeleton of junk; he feels things that touch it, he can see and hear clearly, and he can even use it to speak in a booming amplified voice. The protection afforded by this covering is limited by the strength of the material used, and Tiago is still vulnerable to things like bullets that might penetrate the protective layer. He also feels pain at the destruction of any part of his extra accumulated mass, but can quickly repair the damage with his power, and this also removes the source of the pain. Appearance After turning his card, Tiago came to possess a patchwork appearance with one brown eye and one hazel in a face that is a mosaic of dark and light skin. The skin covering the rest of his body carries the same patchwork look with triangles and rectangles of various shades from head to toe. Personality Living in poverty, to the point of homelessness, has taught Tiago to be resourceful and streetwise. He keenly feels the injustice of how the poor, particularly jokers, are treated by those from wealthier social strata, angering and inspiring him to act in their defence when innocent people come under threat from outsiders. Selected Reading * Discards